A battery installed in an electronic device (e.g., a handheld device such as a portable data terminal (PDT), a personal data assistant (PDA), etc.) is a component that can develop internal failures over time from environmental stresses due to a user handling/mishandling the device (e.g., users dropping the device). In one regard, the battery can develop internal failures due to the internal solder joints breaking from the mechanical stresses of being dropped.
Internal battery failures due to broken internal solder joints can, however, be very intermittent. For example, the PDT (or other electronic device) may operate normally most of the time, but a bump or drop can separate the broken solder joint causing a power loss and a resulting reboot of the PDT. The specific cause of this intermittent device failure may be difficult for the user to determine because the electronic device may operate normally most of the time.
Moreover, when the electronic device having intermittent failures (i.e., failures that come and go) is returned for service by a user, it is difficult for a maintenance or repair technician to specifically identify a faulty battery component because the battery may not exhibit the failure at the time of the repair. Moreover, testing the suspect battery in a different board or device could cause a slight variation in the “twist,” “tension,” or “spring” pressure that is being applied to the battery/board connector interface such that the broken internal battery joint functions normally during battery testing. This can lead to missed repairs and repeat returns of failed devices causing frustration for the device user/customer.
Therefore, a need exists for more effective maintenance systems and methods for electronic devices, including but not limited to maintenance systems and methods that facilitate accurate detection and subsequent replacement of faulty (i.e., defective, bad, flawed, etc.) batteries in an intermittent failure mode.